America's War Workers

Fault Lines investigates the system that brings foreign laborers to work on U.S. military bases in Afghanistan.

Today there are nearly 40,000 foreign contract workers on bases in the U.S. military’s Central Command. Hailing primarily from India and Nepal, these laborers serve American troops in facilities in Afghanistan, Iraq, and elsewhere. These “third country nationals” are willing to travel to a warzone for the promise of a high salary.

In its investigation, Fault Lines finds that these laborers regularly end up deceived and indebted, victims of local recruiters who charge thousands of dollars for a chance to be placed in one of these jobs, and labor traffickers who profit from military contracts.

Has the US military come to rely on an indentured workforce? Fault Lines retraces the journey that these workers often make – from villages in India to labor camps in Dubai – to examine how the U.S. staffs its bases during wartime.